Written by Amanda Froelich at trueactivist.com
There’s nothing like positive news to rekindle faith in humanity.
Not long after Phil Solorzano, a self-proclaimed pizza lover, opened up his family’s fourth restaurant in Sarasota, Florida, he created a “Pie It Forward” movement that is making a big difference for those with few resources.
The creative program was invented on April 29 when a customer didn’t want the drink that was included with his order at Solorzano’s Late Night Pizzeria. So what did Phil do? He simply “gave it to the next guy.”
Inspired by the kindness model started by a Philadelphia pizza shop, Phil placed a sticky note on the Coke machine behind the counter so that a future customer could have the drink instead.
“We had our first ‘Pay It Forward Wall’ situation when this kid who lost his wallet needed some food,” Phil said. “He couldn’t believe we did this.”
By the end of the first night, the wall already had 15 stickers on it. From then on, the “Pie It Forward Wall” was born.
Some customers choose to donate an extra slice of pizza when purchasing their own pizza, and others are donating as much as $100 in the store’s Paypal account so that anyone without cash can enjoy the Italian cuisine.
As NBC News reports, Phil shares that donations have already totaled thousands of dollars in the two months since the first drink was paid forward.
“We’re taking this to the next level,” Solorzano declared.
The restaurant is even using the program to give away its own pizza. In an interview with Good News Network, Phil stated:
“We don’t just do it in the store. There’s a couple spots in the city with a lot of homeless people, so when pizza is about three hours old, I throw it in the box and get in my pizza truck and take it to them.”
Watch the inspiring video by WFLA below:
“There’s so many positive vibes from everyone. Everyone’s talking about it. Every day people come to work, and everyone’s happy,” he said. “We’re never gonna stop doing this.”
At present, the New Jersey native has applied for a trademark on #PieItForwardWall. The restaurant has also set up a Fundly account if you are inspired to donate.
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